N.J.S.A. 43:16A-11.9 — Purchase of retirement system credit.

43:16A-11.9 Purchase of retirement system credit. 1. Any member of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System of New Jersey who has at least 20 years of creditable service in the retirement system and who leaves a position covered by the retirement system, with the approval of the employer, to take a full-time position with a. a federal agency, b. an agency of another state or local government thereof, c. a national, regional, statewide, areawide or metropolitan organization representing member state or local governments, d. an association of state or local public officials, or e. a nonprofit organization which has as one of its principal functions the offering of professional advisory, research, educational or development services, or related services, to governments or universities concerned with public management, may, upon filing an application with the board of trustees of the retirement system, purchase credit in the retirement system for all or a portion of the time of service with the public agency or private organization, but not exceeding three years, as provided in this act. The member may purchase credit for the service by paying into the annuity savings fund the amount determined by applying the factor, supplied by the actuary, applicable to his age at the time of the purchase, to his creditable salary in the last 12 months of creditable service in the position covered by the retirement system immediately preceding the service with the public agency or private organization. The purchase may be made in regular monthly installments or in a lump sum as the member may elect and pursuant to rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the board of trustees. The member shall bear the entire cost for the additional retirement benefit attributable to the purchased credit. If, upon retirement, the member's payment for purchase of the credit is insufficient to provide for the additional retirement benefit attributable to the service, the difference may be assessed to the member, or a pro rata credit may be granted based on service purchased prior to the date of retirement, at the election of the member. If the member retires prior to completing the purchase, he will receive pro rata credit for service purchased prior to the date of retirement, unless he makes an additional lump sum payment at that time as will be necessary to provide full credit. The purchase may be made within four years of the date of the member's last contribution to the retirement system in the covered position immediately preceding the service with the public agency or private organization. L.1985, c.450, s.1; amended 2018, c.55, s.12. 43:16A-11.10. Purchase of credit during official leave without pay 14. A member of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System may purchase credit for time during which the member shall have been absent on an official leave without pay. The credit shall be purchased for a period of time equal to: a. three months or the duration of the leave, whichever is less; or b. if the leave was due to the member's personal illness, two years or the duration of the leave, whichever is less; or c. the period of leave that is specifically allowed for retirement purposes by the provisions of any law of this State. The purchase shall be made in the same manner and be subject to the same terms and conditions provided for the purchase of previous membership service by section 1 of P.L.1973, c.63 (C.43:16A-11.4). L.1991,c.138,s.14. 43:16A-11.11. Members of Police and Firemen's Retirement System may purchase credit. 3. A member of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System may file a detailed statement of public employment in other states or with the United States Government which would be eligible for credit in a State-administered retirement system if the employment was with a public employer in this State, of military service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or of public employment as a class two special law enforcement officer with a public employer in this State, including time taken during such public employment to complete a basic police training course required for that employment, rendered prior to becoming a member, for which the member desires credit, and of such other facts as the retirement system may require. The member may purchase credit for all or a portion of the service evidenced in the statement up to the nearest number of years and months, but not exceeding 10 years, provided however, that a member purchasing that maximum credit may purchase up to five additional years for additional military service qualifying the member as a veteran as defined in section 1 of P.L.1983, c.391 (C.43:16A-11.7). No application shall be accepted for the purchase of credit for the service if, at the time of application, the member has a vested right to retirement benefits in another retirement system based in whole or in part upon that service. The member may purchase credit for the service by paying into the annuity savings fund the amount required by applying the factor, supplied by the actuary as being applicable to the member's age at the time of the purchase, to the member's salary at that time, or to the highest annual compensation for service in this State for which contributions were made during any prior fiscal year of membership, whichever is greater. The purchase may be made in regular installments equal to at least 1/2 of the full normal contribution to the retirement system, over a maximum period of 10 years. The employer of a member who applies, pursuant to this section, to purchase credit for public employment with the United States Government, for military service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or for public employment as a class two special law enforcement officer with a public employer in this State shall not be liable for any payment to the retirement system on behalf of the member for the purchase of this credit. Notwithstanding any provision of this act to the contrary, a member shall not be liable for any costs associated with the financing of pension adjustment benefits and health care benefits for retirees when purchasing credit for public employment in other states or with the United States Government, military service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or for public employment as a class two special law enforcement officer with a public employer in this State. Any member electing to purchase the service who retires prior to completing payments as agreed with the retirement system will receive pro rata credit for service purchased prior to the date of retirement, but if the member so elects at the time of retirement, the member may make the additional lump sum payment required at that time to provide full credit. Purchase of credit for service as a class two special law enforcement officer shall be permitted only if the break between service as such an officer and the date of their enrollment in the Police and Firemen's Retirement System is less than 365 days. Members of the retirement system who are enrolled on the effective date of P.L.2024, c.54 shall have only one year from that effective date to apply for such a purchase. The board of trustees shall notify all members of the retirement system of the provisions of this act, P.L.2024, c.54. L.1991,c.153,s.3; amended 2024, c.54.

This is the verbatim text of N.J.S.A. 43:16A-11.9, retrieved from the New Jersey Legislature's public statute corpus. Statutes are amended periodically — for the most current version, check the external source link above. Kyzer is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice.